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Danny Rose has admitted it no longer feels like an honour to play at Wembley after Tottenham Hotspur defeated Southampton in front of a crowd of just 33,012.

It was comfortably the worst turnout for a Spurs Premier League game at the national stadium since the club moved there at the start of last season, with the previous lowest league attendance being 43,268 against Cardiff City.

Mauricio Pochettino, the Spurs manager, has said he hopes to be able to move into the new stadium “in January or February” and Rose added that the players are desperate to return to White Hart Lane as soon as possible.

“It’s just not nice any more,” the Spurs defender said of Wembley. “It has lost its... I don’t feel it’s an honour to play at Wembley. We are all itching to get in the new stadium and hopefully it’s not too much longer.

“The atmosphere is a bit flat. I obviously sympathise with the fans, travelling further to come to Wembley, but it’s the lowest attendance since we have been at Wembley. That speaks volumes.

Tottenham defeat Southampton in front of a crowd of just 33,012Credit:
GETTY IMAGES

“We are disappointed it has taken longer than expected but we know everybody is putting in the hours to make sure the stadium is as good as possible.

“It’s not that much longer now, so hopefully over the next couple of months we are going to be in there and we all sympathise with the fans. We just have to stick together now. We know it’s not going to be too much longer.”

The 28 year-old said he could see nothing wrong with the touchline scuffle between the two teams after Eric Dier had scored a first-half equaliser for Spurs.

“I know there were a lot of opinions about Eric's celebration but that's what derbies are all about,” Rose said. “Even though I was on the bench, it was still nice to be a part of that.

Tottenham and Arsenal players clashCredit:
getty images

“When we've played at the Emirates before, the atmosphere has not been like that. It's special. As long as we conduct ourselves in a professional manner, I don't see anything wrong with what happened last week.

“It's obviously frustrating when you lose and you see selfies and pictures from the [opposition] changing room being uploaded, but there's our incentive. It just shows how far we've come in recent years that it looked like it meant a lot to them to get a win over us. We're looking forward to the reverse fixture.”

Asked about those clashes on the touchline, Rose added: “For me, if I was a neutral watching on TV it's something I would like to see - as long as nobody is throwing hands and assaulting each other. I don't think there was anything wrong with what happened. We celebrated and Arsenal got annoyed with that and the game continues.”

Meanwhile, Harry Kane has said the busy festive period is when he expects to reach his best goalscoring form. Kane, who has scored seven goals in his last eight games for club and country, believes he finds his rhythm in front of goal when there are so many matches in such a short space of time.

“If you miss a couple of chances, you get back quickly,” said Kane, who scored the first in the 3-1 victory over Southampton. “I just get into a rhythm. You know where the spaces are, you know where the ball is going to drop. It’s these sort of periods in my career where I’m at my best. It might be down to fitness as well. When teams are tired, I exploit the space a bit more. In December, January, I hit top form.”